The Brown Thrasher

In 1928, the school children of Georgia selected the brown thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) as the state bird. According to Nature Magazine (April, 1932),

"The Campaign was inaugurated by the Fifth District of the State Federation of Women's Clubs and was sponsored by the Atlanta Bird Club and kindred groups."

Proposals were made to the Legislature and bills to adopt the brown thrasher as the state bird were introduced, but no action was taken.

On April 6, 1935, the brown thrasher was declared the state bird of Georgia by proclamation of Governor Eugene Talmadge.

Thirty-five years later, at the urging of the Garden Clubs of Georgia, the Georgia General Assembly passed Joint Resolution No. 128, that designated the brown thrasher the official Georgia State Bird.

Brown Thrashers have the largest repertoire of songs of all the North American birds and are able to vocalize 3000 distinct songs. Some brown thrashers are very good mimics and even sing songs of other species of birds as part of their own songs.

Both sexes help in the care and feeding of the chicks. Brown thrashers are omnivorous and usually feed on insects and other invertebrates (worms and snails) but also feed on small vertebrates like lizards and frogs as well as berries, wild fruits, and nuts. It finds its food through foraging and uses its beak to help it in the process by moving aside obstacles found on the ground like small stones, leaves, and twigs.

They are an aggressive defender of their nest, and have been known to strike people and dogs hard enough to draw blood. It is also a very shy bird so that the chance of people actually spotting the bird is smaller than that of hearing the bird sing.

The brown thrasher was the inspiration for the name of Atlanta's National Hockey League team, the Atlanta Thrashers, now moved to Winnipeg.